A New Bohemian
by Bondi
Summary: Mimi and Roger don't think, and now it's up to Angel and Collins to help.
1. Angel's Visit

I stood up, and put my hands in my pockets. Looking around the room to see if my students were keeping their eyes on their own papers. It had been a problem in my class for a while now, so I surveyed them, walking through the aisles, making sure everything was right and innocent. It was silly, I thought, to have to watch these college students like high-schoolers, but, if they were going to act like they were freshmen in high school, they would be treated as such. I have to admit; I love what I do, so this mindless exercise was worth it. The students' antics were worth it, between passing notes during lectures, saying absolutely obscene things when they didn't know answers to questions I asked, or them just harmlessly making fun of me. The kids made me laugh, they had spirit, life, and, of course, potential. I couldn't dare complain, until they caught hold of a piece of my life that I didn't want them to know yet. Not so early in the semester.

I peered over the shoulder of one of my students, checking to see if he knew what he was doing, and what I could look forward to grading tonight, when my classroom door opened slightly. I sighed, figuring it was a late student, and looked up to see the culprit.

I was no student. It was my lost looking lover at the door, wearing probably the worst thing that he could wear. He was wearing his 'girl'. By his 'girl', I mean he was dressed in drag. Bright. Pink. Blonde. High-heeled. Drag. She looked down the room, and we made eye contact. Other students had caught on, and began to laugh. I blushed deep red, happy to see her, but wishing that she could have knocked first. She didn't seem to mind the stares and laughs, and one snort, whose owner I smacked in the back of the head. She saw the face I made, and made an embarrassed kind of face.

"Bad time?" She asked in a whisper, and even though the love of my life could be very quickly mistaken for a woman in clothing, her voice just wasn't so…feminine. Another few giggles were sent through the classroom. I sighed at her, and gave her an index finger that meant for her to wait for a minute. She nodded, and walked out to the hallway, and shut the door. I walked to the front of the class, and looked at my students. One or two of them came up to the front, and handed me their exams.

"Don't laugh." I told them, a few looked up at me. "If there's anything that I've taught you this year it's that you can't just judge others as easily as looking at their clothing." I told them and sighed, a few more students handing me their exams. I was embarrassed at them. I thought they knew better. Living in New York alone should have opened their minds, but the lectures I gave them? "Now, I'm going to leave, and I'm going to keep the door open. I'll be right outside, and if I come back and any of you are talking or peeking at each other's papers, I'll give you all zeros right now." I said, and with that, I walked out of the classroom, and kept the door open.

My love was leaned up against the wall, biting her lip, her feet moving nervously. She heard me and looked at me. "Oh my God Collins, I am so sorry. The administration told me you didn't have a class…I didn't mean to barge in the like, oh honey, I'm sorry." She told me, and I hugged her, and kissed her temple lightly.

"Shh…Angel, sweetie, it's okay. That's not your fault the administration doesn't give a rat's ass about me." I said, attacking my superiors. I looked down at her, and sighed. "What did you want?" I asked her softly, and she shook her head.

"You left before I could even wake up, so I strolled down here to see if you were free for a bit." She told me, looking up at me with those big brown eyes. My heart melted. It wasn't my fault she could sleep so heavily. I smiled at her softly, and kissed her nose lightly.

"This class is over in ten minutes. Or whenever they all finish, and half of them are last time I checked." I told her softly.

"Where should I wait until then?" She asked me, holding my hands inbetween our bodies. I couldn't help but give her a grin.

"Right in my room." I told her, and she raised a perfectly shaped eyebrow. I chucked. "It's alright, you can sit at my desk for the last few minutes of class." I told her, and then proceeded to kiss her sweetly. I heard a catcall from inside the classroom, and looked, letting go of Angel. One of my students had caught us being intimate, and that made me blush a tad. I rolled my eyes, and looked down at Angel. "Come on." I told her, and I took her hand, guiding her into the classroom. I showed her to my chair, and she sat herself down in it. "Class, this Angel Schunard. She'll be staying here for a little while…well, at least until after you leave." I smirked. Only a few students were left in the class with the test. "If you've completed your test, you can g-" Before I could finish, the class erupted in laughter, and I turned around. Angel wasn't at the desk anymore, she was at the chalkboard, drawing a few interesting things. She drew little hearts around my name, and I sighed. Angel got too used to things too quickly, and got used to sharing my private life infront of the class a little quicker than I did. She heard the giggles, and turned around, smiling proudly to both the class and myself.

If anyone else had done this, I would have killed him or her, but my Angel was just too…innocent. She was so blissful about it that it just made me laugh along with the class. I shook my head, and turned around to my class.

"Alright, settle down, if you've finished your test, you are dismissed." I told them, and a few got right up, and began to walk out. I walked over to my Angel, and took her arm. She looked up at my face, and giggled.

"I haven't been in a school since I was seventeen." She told me, looking around the classroom, getting looks from my students. She walked about the room, curiously looking about the place, and some of my students walked over to her, just to greet her before they left for their next class. I sat back in my chair at my desk, watching the students walk out, keeping my eye on Angel as she fluttered graciously around the room. When all of my students had left, I walked up to the door, and shut it, and turned back. I walked back to my desk, so I could watch my Angel some more. She had moved to the front row of seats, and was staring intently at me, and I chuckled.

He looked at me with that handsome smile of his. He flashed me a bit of his teeth, and I couldn't help but smile back. Those teeth against those dark lips gave me quite a challenge. I just wanted to jump at him, and punish him for leaving me this morning.

"You wanted to see me Ms. Schunard?" He asked me professionally. I swear if he talked to his students like that, I'd kill him. That deep voice just went right through my heart.

"Yes, sir, I did need to speak with you." I told him, and he raised an eyebrow. He was too good at this. He cleared his throat, getting serious.

"Does this have anything to do with you not getting your work done in class?" He asked me, with that gruff voice of his that sent shivers down my spine. I don't care what Mimi said, that man owned me, but I wasn't about to give up that quickly. I nodded, and stood up, walking over to his desk. I stood next to him, pouting, and looked at the ground. "Aww, now don't give me that face young lady, you know what it makes me do." He told me softly, and I looked into his eyes. I sat on his desk, facing him, and looked into his eyes seriously, and took his hands in mine, and his stopped playing. "What's wrong Angel?" I hated how he could see right through me, but I appreciated his talent this time. This wasn't going to be easy to tell him. I'm not really sure how he would take it. I sighed out deep.

"I'm going to be blunt Collins…" I began, and looked from his eyes to his hands, and went to continue, but he jumped on it.

"Are you hurt Angel? You took your AZT this morning, right?" He asked, and stood up quickly, and felt my forehead with the back of hand, then my cheeks, and he looked into my eyes. "You haven't been shaking, have you sweetie? You don't feel warm." He just jumped on me, and I just took it in for a while. He noticed my silence, finally, and looked back at my eyes. "What is it?" He asked.

"This has nothing to do with my health Collins, sit down." I told him softly. He did, but we didn't lose our eye contact. "It has to do with Roger and Mimi." I told him, and that didn't make the situation much better. Roger and Mimi, like Collins and I, had AIDS, and anything wrong that happened with us, even so much as a sore throat was scary, and worth a trip to the hospital. "No, honey, don't worry. It's not that." I said to reassure him. I took in a deep breath. "Collins, baby, Mimi's…pregnant." He just stared at me, unable to give me an emotion. It was as if he didn't hear me. "Collins? Tom, baby…are you…did you hear me?" I asked him, not wanting anything negative to come out of this.

I heard her. I just wish I hadn't.


	2. Collins's Reaction

She looked into my eyes, and I blinked for the first time in a little over thirty seconds. I just stared into those brown eyes, trying to comprehend the words she just sent at me. I couldn't believe what she had told me. Mimi was pregnant? The intoxicated effected blood that runs through her, and Roger's, veins would run through the same veins as this new innocent child. The couple had brought a suffering child into the world. What the hell were they thinking? My mind raced with thoughts, and I became angry at the thought. I was angry at how irresponsible the two were. My anger grew so quickly; I subconsciously squeezed my hand, squeezing my lover's as well. She yelped, and I let go. I looked up at her, a bit shocked.

"Angel, I'm sorry...I just…I just can't comprehend this." I told her honestly, and stood up, walking about. I heard her sigh, and she walked over to me. She leaned her chin on my shoulder, and looked at me, standing behind me, and holding my hand.

"You don't have to." She whispered to me, and I looked at her face. She wasn't glowing like she usually did, but I could see relief in her eyes. She had obviously wanted to get this off her chest for a while, and I could see why. Mimi was her best friend, and Roger was mine. We would have done anything for either of them, but this was hard enough to know. Juts know. We haven't even done anything about it yet, and we had already experienced enough stress, poor Angel. She had known for who knows how much longer than me. "We just need to…be there." She told me, and rubbed my arm. I sighed out.

"I know…I know. I just don't understand. I mean…this was a mistake, wasn't it?" I asked her, and she closed her eyes, and sighed. What I just said was a mistake, not what happened. God bless Angel, she could make any situation beautiful and positive.

"Babies aren't mistakes Collins, they are surprises." Angel told me, and gave me a good stare down, that bore into my soul, and I sighed, leaning my forehead to hers.

"I know, I'm sorry. I just meant, well, they didn't PLAN for it, right?" I asked her.

"No, it wasn't supposed to happen. Mimi told me the condom broke, and yeah…here we are. With an extra bohemian." She told me, and then looked off. Her last comment made me smile, and chuckle very softly. "What?" She asked, and smiled back at me a bit, looking back at me.

"Nothing…just thinking about another one of you." I said, and chuckled, and Angel smacked my butt.

"Oh shut up, Mimi's pregnant, not me." She told me, and rolled her eyes. Her eyes traveled up in thought, and then she laughed at the same thought as mine. Her laughter was contagious, and I could help but laugh with her.

"Okay, well, Mimi and you are BEST friends, and she'll end up deeming it your Godchild or something, but please honey…let Mimi raise it." I told her, and she snorted.

"Why, you have a problem with me? You think I'd make a bad mommy?" Angel teased me, but knew what I was getting at.

"No, but if it's straight, don't put it in a dress!" I told her, and turned around to face her better, and she laughed.

"Oh Collins, shut up." She giggled, and kissed me sweetly. That's it. That's what I needed. I needed to feel her soft lips on mine, hers wet from her lipstick. Her kisses could hold down any storm of mine, and even though the problem was right there in bright flashing neon lights, Angel made sure to save on electricity and pull the plug for a little while. She let go of the kiss, and took each of my hands in her own. "So…what now?" She asked me, looking persistent with that proud smirk and those determined eyes. I sighed out lightly.

"We get out of here and go see if they are alright." I said indefinitely, and Angel smiled. She was thinking the same thing I was, and she kissed my cheek.

"Exactly. Now get your things." She told me, and let me go so I could. I smiled and walked to my desk. Angel walked over to my chalkboard, and continued to doodle while I packed my things. I listened to her hum lightly as she drew and erased, and I smiled, putting the tests in my bag. Oh those will be a joy to grade while I have the thoughts of AIDS babies on my mind. I sighed, and closed my bag. As I threw it over my shoulder, I looked at Angel.

"Alright, now let's get out of here." I told her, and took her hand. She looked at me, and put the chalk away, but continued to hum. She stood close to me as we walked to the door, and I froze, thinking about the amount of students and staff outside, waiting to see me with Angel. Holding hands. With her. In drag. Bright. Pink. Blonde. High-heeled. Drag. I sighed, but she opened the door without a thought, to the crowded hallways.

I noticed him tense up when I opened the door. He needed to calm down. Could he possibly be ashamed of me? No…of course not, he was just nervous. I guess college wasn't a place for private lives to be discovered. Being gay alone was something to be careful about, but letting a whole university know, AND have me here. Poor baby Collins. I'll make it up to him later. I guess he had every right to be nervous, but we weren't even moving. He just stood there, staring off into the crowd. He was such a baby. I tugged on his arm, and walked along with him. I eventually got him to move on his own, and stood close to him. He was certainly not alone in this silent battle. I was being stared at because I was dressed as a woman, and he was being stared at because he was the man who taught them everyday. I looked up at him, and he must have felt my eyes on his, and he looked down at me, and smiled lightly. I giggled at him.

"Kiss me." I told him, and her lifted an eyebrow at me, a bit taken aback by my sudden outburst.

"What?" He asked me, as if I just said the stupidest thing in the world. What a pain in the butt.

"You heard me…kiss me." I repeated, and smiled up at him. He sighed, and looked forward to the corridor, and shook his head.

"You're deranged woman." He said gruffly, and that made me frown.

"Why?" I asked him, furrowing my eyebrows. He better come up with something good, because my cover-up wasn't going to stand the look I was giving him.

"Honey, look where we are." He told me, and I shook my head.

"Well, this way, you don't have to tell them. They can just find out on their own." I told him, and stopped walking, holding his hand, so he wouldn't go anywhere either. He groaned, and looked at me.

"Angel, sweetie, come on…we have to go." He told me, and I rolled my eyes, and walked close to him. I wasn't going to take anymore of his silly shyness. I wrapped my arms around his neck, and held his head in my hands, and kissed him hard on the mouth. I noticed it took a little while for him to get used to it, but he eventually wrapped an arm around my waist. He made me feel so wanted when he held me like that, and so skinny. I like it. I LOVE it. He was such an amazing kisser, what a man. To think that I would end up with a man like my Tom Collins was unheard of, but no need to think about it. I've got him, and as long as I can fight, I'm not going to give him up. After a moment of two, he let go, to another catcall. He blushed miserably, and I giggled, holding his head.

"Oh, baby, you're pathetic." I whispered into his ear, and he groaned, but it was followed by a low chuckle. I giggled, and held him close to me, and I heard a student call at us.

"Hey, save it for outside queers!" A young boy had shouted at us from the other side of the hallway. Collins looked up to see whom it was, and immediately looked away. The kid looked shocked, he must have been one of Collins' students. "Oh…my God." The kid murmured, and began to crack up, and walked over. "Professor Collins?" He asked, astounded by the knowledge that his professor was gay. This boy had no gaydar at all. Collins was a total faggot, and I knew the second I met him. But, the fact that he was totally flirting with me probably helped. He wasn't making a very nice face at my baby. "You're...gay?" He asked him, seemly appalled. Oh no he did not. I looked at the little runt, and narrowed my eyes.

"Is that a problem?" I asked him threateningly. One thing to make fun of homosexuality, but to make fun of my one true love, now that kid was going to die. The boy looked up at me, and smirked.

"What are you going to do about it? Bitch-slap me?" He asked me, and chuckled, and I lunged at him. Collins grabbed my arms, and pulled me out of the corridor kicking and tugging. I can't believe that brat. What were his parents thinking? I can't believe he just said that. Totally rude for disrespecting a REALLY hot teacher, but for being completely okay with being homophobic is disgusting. Collins got enough strength to face me forward instead of that towards that little brat. He quickly rushed us out of the school, realizing that I wouldn't leave without a fight. He was right.

"Angel, you have GOT to stop doing that." He told me as we got outside, and I crossed my arms, and rolled my eyes.

"Stop WHAT?" I asked him, getting even angrier. "That freak deserved that and THEN some. I would have whopped his ass so hard to make up for all those times his parents spoiled him and didn't teach him to accept people." I ranted and stomped my feet to the ground, which wasn't a good idea, since my shoes weren't angry-Angel-proof. Collins hushed me by holding me close to him, and I sighed. Could he stop being amazing for ten seconds?

"Shh…Angel, baby, I know…it was terrible what he said, and I'll be happy to see him tomorrow in class so I can talk about it…but I don't want you frazzled right now. Now, let's catch the train, and go see Mimi and Roger." He told me, and kissed my cheek softly, and I smiled.

"Fine…" I said, and looked up into his eyes. "You're right, I need to calm down a bit…" I quickly straightened out my wig, which I would have to apologize to later after that flip out. "But, can you answer me something honey?" I asked him, and looked into his dark brown eyes, and he smiled warmly.

"Of course, what is it?" He asked me sweetly, and I thought that was so cute of him.

"Is it REALLY that easy to tell…that…well…?" I asked him, not sure how to form it. I have never actually brought up the subject of my actual gender. It had always been so trivial to everyone I knew that I didn't have to deal with the subject. Well, unless Mark brought it up, which he LOVED doing. I really do think that he thinks I'm actually a woman.

"Well what?" Collins asked me, and smiled, taking my hand.

"That I'm…you know…not very…" I couldn't just be blunt about it, so I mused some body language, and swung my hip, and with my free hand I grabbed at my chest, and Collins laughed.

Oh Angel…


	3. Roger's Tears

Did she WANT to smack me? How am I supposed to answer that question with all this on my mind right now. Angel questions her feministic features at the wrong time. She looked into my eyes with that determined look. Jesus, she was serious. She really wanted me to answer that. All right Tom…just weigh out the answers, and keep cool. To stall my answer, I gave her a fake smile, and kissed her cheek sweetly.

"Angel, what should it matter? You're beautiful, man or woman. I love you so much, and you do look like a woman, but just enough of a man so I'll remember what I'm doing with such a sweet little lady." I told her as best I could, and she lit up. My life just flashed before my eyes, and my heart stopped for a second. I just said the perfect thing. YES! She squealed, and wrapped her arms around my neck, and kissed my cheek a few times. Then she kissed my other cheek a few times, and then one of the lips. I wrapped my arms around her waist, and chuckled lightly. Oh my Angel, what I'd do everyday to see you this happy.

"Oh Collins!" I heard her squeal, and I just grinned a goofy grin. "That's so sweet. I love you so much baby." She said happily, and gave my cheek one last kiss that probably took off all her lipstick.

"I love you too honey." I told her softly, and kissed her temple softly. "Can we go now?" I asked her, and chuckled lightly. She gave me a funny 'oh shut up' kind of smirk, and hit my arm.

"Fine…" She said, and took my hand as we began to walk down the street to the train. "I'm really glad you're coming to see them Collins." She told me after a while of silence between us.

"Well, I'm happy to be there for them. The last thing I want is for them to hesitate asking for help, especially from us. If anyone should understand…"

"I know honey, I know." Angel said, cutting me off. I wasn't surprised that she did. Although she was completely open to the subject, she didn't want to worry about the disease we both shared with Roger and Mimi. The disease that would separate the family one-day. It wasn't anything we, or anyone else, wanted to think on. No day but today, that's how my Angel rolled. I loved her for it, so she was right. She looked up at me, and smiled sweetly, but it wasn't anything too big. I gave her hand a squeeze as we made our way down the stairs to the train. "I don't usually use the train." Angel told me. She was good at starting conversation, and sometimes I wish I could visit her mind to see what was going on in there, but at the same time, and for the same reason, I didn't want to take that risk.

"But, I use it so much, it makes up for that." I told her, and sat down, and she took a seat next to me. "Besides, walking is good for you, and by your figure, you prove it." I said, and gave myself a pat on the back for slipping in a compliment for her. She looked at me and blushed, giving me a shy smile. She was so sweet and warm, which made it even better when she cuddled up to me, and I wrapped my arm around her. I kissed her little nose, and she looked up at me, and kissed me sweetly. Needless to say I kissed her back, and held her close. So, here we were…making out on a train. Lovely, thank you my Angel for making this situation seem so trivial. This absolute madness that will make the next year or so a living hell was made forgotten by my love.

Slowly I let go of our kiss so I could look into his eyes. They stayed closed for a second or two, but when he opened them, my heart fluttered. They were warm and full of love. He lowered his face to mine, but not for another kiss, just to lean his forehead on mine. His forehead was hot, I noticed, and I looked at him concerned, and withdrew my hand to put it on his forehead.

"Sweetie, you're warm." I told him softly. I couldn't bare the thought of him being sick. "Do you feel ill?" I asked him, looking into his eyes.

"I feel fine Angel, you're probably just cold." He said, and looked down at my outfit. All right, fine, it was a little skimpy for October, but hey, I had to look my best infront of all those college kids. "Here, wear this to warm you up." He said, and took his coat off, and wrapped it around me. He was such a sweetie, he really was. And he called me the selfless one.

"Thanks, but all I needed was a big strong arm of yours." I told him, and snuggled up to him. Yeah, he was very, very warm. I was right, but I guess he was right about me being cold. I heard and felt him chuckle, and he wrapped an arm around me.

"You know it's not that long to the loft from here, right?" He asked me, and I just gave a small coo, I was too comfy to say anything. I didn't want to move an inch. He gave another light chuckle. "Well, I am not carrying you, I hope you know." At this, I did move. I looked up at him and pouted.

"Why not?" I asked him, and tried my best to give him my best pouting face.

"I'm too old for that, that's why." Collins said, and I snorted, rolling my eyes.

"Umm...trust me, you're not at the age where you can't commit to rough physical labor." I told him softly and seductively. I sat up, and crawled into his lap, and looked into his eyes. He raised an eyebrow at me.

"I'm still not carrying you to the loft baby." He told me flatly. I gave him another pout.

"Fine." I said, and sat back in my own seat and held his coat closer to myself. "You're not getting this back then." I told him, and he shook his head. I looked over at him, and gave him another pout, and he sighed, but before he could say anything the train stopped, and he grabbed his bag, and stood up. He looked at me, and helped me up. What a gentleman.

"Angel, darling, I'd do anything for you…I'm just tired." He told me, and I shook my head.

"I know, come on, you old man." I told him, and took his hand, walking us both out of the station to the tent city ahead of us. "You want to stop at home first or anything?" I asked him, knowing that he might be a bit uncomfortable right now. I had already seen Mimi this morning about it. I haven't seen Roger, though he's not the one I'm completely worried about.

"No, I'll be fine sweetie." He told me, and walked up to the building and inside we went, up the three flights of stairs to Roger and Mark's loft. I figured we could now just call it Mark's loft, since Roger would want to spend all of his free time with Mimi. Damn that boy needed someone to love. He was going to be all alone in that big apartment. Maybe that could be just more of an excuse to come and visit him. I giggled lightly, and we reached the door to their loft. I breathed out, hoping no one else was there. This situation was too private and serious to have everyone around. Collins knocked on the door, and I stood close to him. I heard footsteps, and the door opened. Roger stood at the door, and looked at the both of us. He gave us a faint smile.

"Hey guys…come on in." He said hesitantly, and took a few steps back, and when we were in, I heard the door shut. Collins put his bag down, and walked over to the couch. I let go of his hand, and turned to face Roger. He looked at me, and was a bit shocked at my appearance, wearing my lover's leather trench coat. I agree with Roger's expression. This didn't go with my outfit at all, but that wasn't the point. "Cold?" He asked me, and I just shook my head, and hugged him. I hugged his tightly, and kissed his head.

"Oh Roger baby…" I muttered softly, and he gave into the hug. It always took Roger a while to give into a hug, especially one with me, but I knew why it took him no time to give in to this. He needed it. I felt his breathing pick up drastically, and he leaned his head on my shoulder.

"God…" He mumbled into my wig softly, and sniffed in. He was crying. Oh Roger, he didn't mean for this to happen. "Oh…God Angel…I'm sorry…"

"Shh…" I said, and pat his hair. "Shh…Roger, it's okay, don't be sorry." I told him softly. I didn't even want Collins to hear. This was Roger's moment to feel, not mine, not Collins's. "I'm here for you. Just cry sweetie, everything will be just fine, you'll see." I told him softly. He simply nodded and continued huffing cries into my shoulder. "Are you alone?" I asked him. He shook his head. "Is Mark here?" He shook his head. "Is Mimi here?" I asked him. He shook his head again. "Who is here then?" I asked him, and he looked up at me. I've never seen him so torn up. His eyes were red and swollen from crying, something I know he needed. There was a knock on the wall, and I turned towards the direction of the bathroom, seeing who was here with Roger. It was Benny. He didn't have the usual Benny expressions. He looked very serious, but not businessman kind of serious. Collins saw him, and stood up. Roger let go of me, and walked to the couch were Collins was. He was obviously embarrassed to be seen crying, but I walked over to Roger, and sat next to him. Collins would see what was going on.

As Angel sat down next to Roger I walked over to Benny. What was he doing here, out of all people? Where was Mimi? Benny and Roger, in the same room? Those two hated each other, considering Roger couldn't go a day without accusing Mimi of sleeping with Benny-Oh God. No, that can't be. No, that's not right. Benny couldn't have. If Benny did, Benny would have…no. No, this isn't right. The man I had been staring at had caught my expression.

"No, it's not mine." He said, able to read my expressions like a manual. "But that is why I'm here, and so that I could…help in any way possible." He said, as if it hurt him to say it all. I had to have heart for my former friend. He had loved Mimi a lot. I guess this was a bit weird for him.

"Good to see you." That was all I could muster. It was nice to see Benny without an eviction notice hanging near him. "I just got the news about an hour ago. Angel came down and picked me up, where's Mimi?" I asked him curiously.

"At Maureen's. She should be over soon though." Benny explained, and I made a face of horror, which made Benny give me a small smile. "Without Maureen, don't worry." I smirked. I loved the girl…but she wasn't the best person to have around when you're talking about such a sensitive subject. "Do you guys want anything to drink?" He asked, and walked over to the fridge. I shook me head.

"No, I'm fine, what about you Angel?" I asked, and looked at her. She had her arms wrapped around a very emotionally panged Roger. She looked up at me, and nodded. Benny saw her and we both knew it wasn't for her. She was going to make Roger drink it. Benny took a glass from the cabinet and poured water into it. He walked over to Angel and handed it to her. Angel let go of Roger, and took the glass.

"Now drink this sweetie." She told him, and he took it reluctantly. He knew fighting with my Angel would never work out, so he did as he was told.

"Thanks." He said hoarsely. He placed the glass down on the table, and laid back on the couch, and Angel stood up to give him room to lie down. She walked over to me, and took my hand, looking at Benny. Those two never really formed a concrete relationship. They didn't really talk to each other. Don't get me wrong though, they didn't hate each other, they just never had an excuse to be friendly. Benny gave her a friendly smile, and she returned it. He said nothing about her appearance, and she said nothing about his mentality. It kind of irked me, but I wasn't about to complain.

"Nice to see you both here." Benny said, and smiled. "You didn't want anything Angel?" He offered again. Angel shook her head lightly.

"No thank you, but I do need to use the bathroom, I'll be right back." She said, and walked down out of sight to the bathroom. I watched her leave, and sigh.

"Whoops…" Benny muttered, and walked over to the couch where Roger sat. I looked at him confused.

"What?" I asked him, wondering what he had done. I thought he handled it all very well. He looked at me, and gave me a very Benny kind of face.

"You know what." He said and sighed. "Will I ever grow on him?" He asked me, and it took me a second to get it. I had to shake my head and sigh as I sat down to try and explain this to him.

"Benny, Angel doesn't hate you for the last time. I swear, one of these days, I'm just going to put you two in a room alone together for three hours." I told him, and smirked. He chuckled.

"Umm…three hours alone with him? No offense, but I don't think I have the energy for that kind of thing." Benny told me, and looked at my face. He looked like his old self, before this whole tenant-landlord thing happened. I was glad.

"You'd love her, give it a try." I told him, and smiled, and he just made a face.

"Yeah, but would he like me?" Benny asked, and laid back. I shrugged.

"I'll tell you a little secret about my Angel, she can't NOT like anyone." I told him, and grinned happily. "She's wonderful, you two should really hang out sometime when I'm at work or something."

"Yes, Alison will be happy to hear that. I can picture it now, me telling her that I'm about to hang out with my best friend's boyfriend, who dresses like a woman. Yeah…that'll turn out fine." Benny said, and stopped at the sound out high heels meeting the wooden and creaky floor. We turned to see a refreshed looking Angel walking back to us. I held out my arms for her, and she smiled, sitting down in my lap, giving me a sweet kiss. She looked at Benny, and smiled lightly, and then to Roger, who was asleep now. Not a moment went by before the door to the loft opened. All three of us motioned our heads in the direction of the door. It was Mimi. She didn't look any different, just a bit off. That was to be expected. For some reason, I was awaiting a very shrill, bony, pale Mimi with a large inflated stomach. Gay men aren't that in tune with pregnancy to have the common sense that that doesn't happen very quickly. Angel, however, didn't seem to care that Mimi looked perfectly normal. She let go of me, immediately stood up, and walked over to her friend. Mimi held her arms out for Angel, who stood a good foot above her. Angel squeezed her tight, and kissed her cheek. I stood up and looked at Mimi, and she saw me.

"Oh, Collins!" She said, and smiled, running over to me, and gave me a hug. I, standing a foot above Angel, even with her heels, stood well over two to Mimi. I hugged her back, at my defense at being toppled over by a hysterical little girl. I kissed the top of her head, the wild hair of hers. She sniffed, and looked up at me. "Thanks for coming." She told me.

I looked at the two of them, and figured I was the luckiest…person on earth to have them both so close to me, and so close to each other.


	4. Mimi's Relief

I watched the two hug silently, until Mimi detached herself from Collins. Collins sat back down, and I took the seat next to him. I could see a bit of depression in Mimi's eyes, especially when she looked at the sleeping Roger on the couch.

"Well…this is perfect." Mimi mumbled and sat in another sofa chair. "Get to talk about this all by myself, don't I?" She asked Roger's limp body, and I sighed.

"Mimi-chica, don't worry. It's fine, he'll wake up soon." I assured her, even though I wasn't sure. Not like she had anything to worry about. All three of us cared for her very, very much in our own different ways. She looked up at me, and pouted a bit, and scratched her cheek.

"I guess…" She mumbled, and looked out the window. "It's just…I'm scared.' She said finally.

"We know baby, we know. That's why we're here. We aren't here to ridicule you. We want to help." I told her softly, and tried to smile. I felt Collins's hand tighten around my own.

"Angel's right Mimi, these things happen. It doesn't matter how or why anymore, because nothing's going to change that. It's time to look ahead and what we're going to do to help you two along." Benny told her. He was so sweet to her. I'll admit, Benny wasn't good at emotions and helping others, but with Mimi he was different. I think a part of him still loves her.

"Thank you guys…but I don't want to be any trouble, this is Roger and my fault. I…"

"Don't say anything like that again Mimi. We want to help you, and anything we do from here on, whether it's me, Benny, Angel, even Mark, Maureen or Joanne, we're doing it to help you in our interests, not because you two forced this on us. I mean, we all pitched in to get Roger into rehab, and he didn't even want to go. We even support Maureen and Joanne's relationship, even though all of us agree neither should be seeing each other." Collins told her, and I smiled proudly at him. I kissed his cheek, and he smiled, and Benny gave a small chuckle. "We're behind you no matter what you do." Collins told her.

"That's just it, I'm not sure what to do." Mimi told us, and I frowned a bit.

"What do you mean?" I asked her.

"Well, whether I should…keep it or not." She explained, and made a confused face. I gasped at her, holding my hand to my open mouth. I felt Benny and Collins's eyes on me.

"Mimi-chica, you have GOT to be kidding me!" I said, astounded by her inquiry of killing a baby off.

"You think I should have an abortion, don't you?" Mimi asked me, and I could see tears swelling up in her eyes. My hand left my face, and held my chest softly. I stood up, and walked over to her, and bent down infront of her. Thank God for Collins's jacket, or I'd be giving Benny a show he probably wouldn't want. What a prude.

"Mimi, you don't know me so well, do you?" I asked her softly. "I don't want you to have an abortion, I want you to have this baby." I told her, and kept her chin cupped in my hands. "I want you and Roger to raise this baby, no matter how sick anyone gets." She tried to but in, but I just shook my head. "No, Mimi, listen. This isn't something you two should toy too much with. This baby might be sick, and if it is, let it be. But, I believe that this was supposed to happen. It's just too big of a coincidence. Let fate do what it needs to." I told her, and she looked at me, right into my eyes. I took her hands and looked into her eyes. "That's what I would do." I told her, and gave her a smirk. Mimi couldn't help but smile.

"Alright Ang', next time your pregnant, just give me a call." She said, and tried to keep a straight face, but couldn't. She just laughed, and I laughed as well. I'm glad this whole this didn't have to be so serious. She held out her arms, and I hugged her tightly. "Thanks." She whispered in my ear, muffled by my wig.

"Anything for my Mimi." I whispered back, and smiled.

Those two, I just didn't know what to do. I felt as though it was useless for me to be here, and I'm sure Benny felt the same way too, or at least until Roger woke up. Angel just seemed to be able to take control over anything. She could make every single issue a big happy surprise, just like she did with this baby. I looked over at Benny, who seemed to be staring, almost gawking at Angel. I couldn't help but laugh at his reaction.

"Welcome to my world buddy." I told him, and smiled. He looked over at me, and smirked.

"So…you're dating an almost perfect woman." Benny told me, and smirked.

"Almost perfect?" I asked him. Of course, Angel had her flaws, but what was so obvious at this point? "What's wrong with her?"

"She's not a woman." Benny said, and laughed. I could help but chuckle.

"Don't let her hear you say that." I told him, and smiled warmly.

"Why not? What will she do?" Benny asked me, getting curious, and I laughed.

"Let's just say, she almost decked a student of mine for calling me queer." I explained to him, and he gave a snort.

"What a woman." Benny said, and laughed. It was good to have him back. Hopefully he was back for good this time. Benny was my best friend, and I didn't want something as petty as him getting a new job to split us up and make us enemies. Everything seemed so right, and yet, the world was trying to bear down on us that everything was wrong. The world was wrong. Angel was happy, I was happy. Benny was happy, Mimi was happy, Roger was…well, Roger was sleeping, but that's always peaceful and nice. Ah, sleep, something I needed.

Angel and I went home after an hour or so. When we got home I took off my shoes, and brought my things to the bedroom. Angel didn't follow, but sat on the couch instead. I walked out of the bedroom, and sat next to her. She looked at me sweetly, and kissed my cheek, smiling very proudly. I didn't do much, but apparently the little that I did was right. She proved this point by gently massaging my neck, and I melted into her fingers. I closed my eyes as she replaced the weight of the world on my shoulders with her gentle fingers. I thought, and thought. Not just about the new baby, but about all of us. This was going to change us all. Maybe we would all stop for a moment and think about what's going on with someone else. To stop thinking about ourselves and help others. That's why Angel wanted Mimi to keep it.

Because that's what Angel wanted.


End file.
